System and Method for an Interactive Device for Use with a Media Device

ABSTRACT

There are provided systems and methods for an interactive device for interaction with a user of a media device, wherein the interactive device and the media device are operable to communicate with a server having a memory storing a plurality of states including a present state of the media device playing a media. The interactive device comprises a peripheral hardware for interaction with the user of the media device and a processor configured to establish a communication with the server, obtain the present state of the media device from the server, select an action in response to the present state of the media, and execute the action using the peripheral hardware for interaction with the user of the media device. The interactive device can operate independently of the server or with several interactive devices connected to the server.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to media playback devices. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to using and operating aninteractive device in conjunction with a media device.

2. Background Art

Interactive devices, such as character toys, figures, game devices, andother items based on popular media may provide users with fun andfamiliar companionship. For example, interactive character devices basedon popular live action movies or animation franchises can enable usersto welcome their favorite characters as a closer part of their dailylives. However, this relationship between users and interactive devicestends to last for only a limited time, as the interactive devicestypically only have a small range of preset behaviors that do not evolveover time. As users exhaust the interactivity possibilities of theinteractive devices, such as by hearing all possible recorded phrases orwinning all games provided, users might resell the interactive devicesor put them away into storage due to lack of interest. This short livedexperience may dampen users' enthusiasm for purchasing other interactivedevices as users become aware that they may quickly tire of interactivedevices with such limited interactivity possibilities.

At the same time, the media used as the original source material for theinteractive devices may also be marketed for distribution and usage bymedia devices in the form of retail packaged media discs, streamingdownloads, mobile device downloads, physical or networked video rentals,set-top boxes, broadcast television, and through other distributionchannels. The media may also be part of a program still in broadcast, aseries having several in-progress parts or sequels, or based on eventshaving periodic live broadcasts, such as sports or drama programs. Whileusers may enjoy watching the above source material on media devices,user participation is typically limited to passive watching, with littleor no interactivity from the user. This passive viewing style may wearthin beyond an initial viewing, with users growing tired of viewing thesame static content without any additional interactivity or variation.As a result, user enthusiasm for video media may be reduced, leading toa slowdown in media purchases for media devices.

Meanwhile, the interactive devices the users may have also purchasedstill only provide the preset interactions built into the interactivedevices, providing users with isolated interactivity that feels staleand unrealistic. The interactive devices are unable to convey theimpression that the interactive devices are related to the content shownby the media devices. For users, the interactive devices are merelyshort-lived novelties without any lasting relation to their favoritemedia programs, rather than realistic companions with dynamic andbelievable personalities.

Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficienciesin the art by providing a way for interactive devices and media devicesto provide interactivity for users beyond preset, static, and isolatedinteractions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

There are provided systems and methods for an interactive device forinteraction with a user of a media device, substantially as shown inand/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as setforth more completely in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present invention will become morereadily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewingthe following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 presents a block diagram of a system for an interactive devicefor interaction with a user of a media device, according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 presents another block diagram of a system for an interactivedevice for interaction with a user of a media device, according to oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 presents a diagram of an interactive device for interaction witha user of a media device, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart describing the steps, according to oneembodiment of the present invention, by which an interactive device canprovide an interaction for a user of a media device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present application is directed to a system and method for aninteractive device for interaction with a user of a media device. Thefollowing description contains specific information pertaining to theimplementation of the present invention. One skilled in the art willrecognize that the present invention may be implemented in a mannerdifferent from that specifically discussed in the present application.Moreover, some of the specific details of the invention are notdiscussed in order not to obscure the invention. The specific detailsnot described in the present application are within the knowledge of aperson of ordinary skill in the art. The drawings in the presentapplication and their accompanying detailed description are directed tomerely exemplary embodiments of the invention. To maintain brevity,other embodiments of the invention, which use the principles of thepresent invention, are not specifically described in the presentapplication and are not specifically illustrated by the presentdrawings.

FIG. 1 presents a block diagram of a system for an interactive devicefor interaction with a user of a media device, according to oneembodiment of the present invention. Environment 100 of FIG. 1 includesinteractive device 110, server 130, media device 150, input device 170,and display 175. Interactive device 110 includes processor 111,peripheral hardware 115, and memory 120. Peripheral hardware 115includes onboard speaker 116, onboard display 117, onboard sensor 118,and onboard motor 119. Memory 120 includes asset cache 121, independentinteractivity specification 123, specification interpreter 124, anddevice state 125. Server 130 includes processor 131 and memory 140.Memory 140 includes asset bank 141, master states 142, and networkedinteractivity specification 143. Master states 142 include master devicestate 145 and master media state 146. Media device 150 includesprocessor 151, media 155, and memory 160. Media 155 includes mediaspecification 163. Memory 160 includes specification interpreter 164 andmedia state 166. Media state 166 includes time code 167, language 168,and environmental variables 169.

Interactive device 110 can comprise a number of physical embodiments,such as a character figure, a robot toy, an interactive game board, orsome other embodiment. Interactive device 110 might, for example, bebundled with a media product such as a Blu-ray disc, or sold separatelyfor use with compatible media. The physical embodiment might, forexample, match an appearance of a character or object specific toparticular media, or could comprise a more general character that can beused with many different media. This might include, for example,likenesses of actors, people, fictional characters, animals, or othersource material from various media.

Interactive device 110 includes various components to support a virtualpersonality for user interactivity. Processor 111, peripheral hardware115, and memory 120 can provide the basic processing foundations forinput and output. As shown in peripheral hardware 115, various onboardcomponents are included to allow interactive device 110 to respond toits environment. For example, onboard speaker 116 may be used as anaudio output device for speech or music, onboard display 117 may be usedas a video display to show video animations or a touchscreen userinterface, onboard sensor 118 might be used as an input device to detectvarious environmental stimuli such as sound or force feedback, andonboard motor 119 might be used as a mechanical device to providevibration, articulation, and movement capabilities.

To react in an intelligent manner, interactive device 110 may useindependent interactivity specification 123, which may include apredetermined set of actions utilizing peripheral hardware 115,dependent on the contents of device state 125. By executingspecification interpreter 124, processor 111 can interpret and parseindependent interactivity specification 123 and device state 125 toprovide a convincing and life-like personality. Device state 125 of FIG.1 includes history 126, appearance 127, and behavior 128. History 126may include, for example, previous user interactions and a record ofpast actions and experiences for learning user preferences and modelingfuture behavior. Appearance 127 may include, for example, variablesaffecting outward appearance, such as body posture, facialconfiguration, color, texture, and clothing or other accessories.Behavior 128 may include, for example, emotional states, relationshipdata for affecting behavior towards a user, preferences, mannerisms,virtual age, and other behavioral modifiers. While device state 125 ofFIG. 1 includes these three data stores, alternative embodiments maycontain more, less, or different data stores, depending on the types ofinteractivity to be supported by interactive device 110.

To effectively use peripheral hardware 115, processor 111 may needaccess to various resources, such as audio media, video media, interfacedesigns, and other data. These resources might be embedded within assetcache 121. Since interactive device 110 may have limited processingresources, memory, and battery power, asset cache 121 may be restrictedto only a small subset of the possible assets addressable by interactivedevice 110. For example, interactive device 110 may be provided with apreloaded configuration through a default independent interactivityspecification 123 and a preloaded set of resources within asset cache121, keyed to the default independent interactivity specification 123.At a later time, interactive device 110 may establish a connection toserver 130, enabling a richer range of interactivity via networkedinteractivity specification 143. Additionally, the connection may allowmodification to independent interactivity specification 123, enablinggreater functionality by using additional external assets. Theseadditional external assets may include assets from server 130 or otherexternal devices, such as additional voice samples, graphics, or otherstate data, and can be streamed down from asset bank 141 as necessary ifa connection is available, or stored in asset cache 121 for fast localaccess and availability even when network connectivity is down.

Although in FIG. 1, server 130 is shown as connected to only interactivedevice 110 and media device 150, alternative embodiments may have server130 connecting to any arbitrary number of external data sources, such asother interactive devices, other servers, and other media playbackdevices. Furthermore, server 130 can keep a set of master statesconcerning past and presently connected devices, or master states 142 inFIG. 1. Master states 142 can therefore provide a simple way forconnected devices to request the state of other connected devices,regardless of connection state. Server 130 can update master states 142as necessary by querying and retrieving present states periodically oron demand, and connected devices may push updated states to server 130on demand as well.

For example, if interactive device 110 requests the state of mediadevice 150, or media state 166, then server 130 may update master mediastate 146 to be current with media state 166, then provide master mediastate 146 back to interactive device 110. If media device 150 is poweredoff or otherwise unavailable, server 130 can still provide master mediastate 146 corresponding to a previous time when media device 150 had aconnection to server 130, and may further report that media device 150is currently unavailable. In this manner, server 130 can retainpersistent states regarding media playback devices 150 and interactivedevice 110, even if they are not continuously powered on or connected.

Server 130 may comprise, for example, a dedicated server accessiblethrough the public Internet and maintained by external parties. Inanother embodiment, server 130 may comprise a personal computer within alocal network, such as the user's home computer or laptop, with specialserver software installed. The server software might be provided as partof the interactive device or media package, to be installed by the user.Additionally, although only one server is shown in FIG. 1, alternativeembodiments may utilize multiple servers for load balancing, greateravailability, or for other reasons.

Media device 150 may comprise, for example, a Blu-ray player, aDVD-Video player, a personal computer, a video game console, a mobilephone, a set-top box, a broadcast television receiver, a digital videorecorder, or any other device capable of video playback or videostreaming to a display and connectivity to server 130. Media 155 maycomprise, for example, a Blu-ray disc, a DVD-Video disc, or a downloadedmedia file. Media specification 163 may comprise, for example, Btu-rayDisc Java (BD-J) Xlets, bytecode in the DVD-Video Virtual Machine (VM)command set, Shockwave Flash bytecode, or Silverlight bytecode. Mediaspecification 163 may contain logic support for interactive featuresprovided by media 155, such as, for example, menu navigation, bonusfeatures, interactive games, and network connectivity. Processor 151 maythen execute specification interpreter 164 within memory 160 tointerpret media specification 163. Specification interpreter 164 maycomprise, for example, a Java Virtual Machine (VM), a DVD-Video VirtualMachine, a Shockwave Flash player, a Silverlight player, or anotherinterpreter. Furthermore, specification interpreter 164 may furtherupdate media state 166 and use media state 166 for interpreting mediaspecification 163.

Media state 166 of media device 150 may include time code 167, language168, and environmental variables 169. Time code 167 may, for example,contain information regarding a presently playing video file, includingchapter number, title number, angle selection, time offset, and anyother playback details. As media device 150 progresses through a videofile, processor 151 may automatically update time code 167 to beconsistent with the present position of video playback. Language 168 mayinclude, for example, global preferences for spoken languages andsubtitles, and a presently selected spoken language and subtitle settingfor media 155. Environmental variables 169 may include, for example,temporary variables and settings for use by media specification 163,such as a media catalog identifier for media 155, or game state data foran interactive game.

To display video and other interactive elements, media device 150 mayoutput visual content to display 175, which may comprise, for example, ahigh definition television (HDTV), a computer monitor, an embedded LCDscreen, or some other video display. To accept user input, a user mayuse input device 170 to provide input data for media device 150. Inputdevice 170 may comprise, for example, a pointing device such as a mouseor optical pointer, am infrared or Bluetooth remote control or gamecontroller, a touchscreen, or some other device for reading user input.Input device 170 can then receive user input for controlling the flow ofvideo playback, for affecting the configuration of media state 166, andfor responding to interactive components of media specification 163.

Thus, interactive device 110 and media device 150 may operateindependently of each other, and may also operate in a networked mannerif connectivity to server 130 can be established. If such connectivityis established, interactive device 110, media device 150, and any otherconnected device can, via master states 142, affect a state of anotherdevice, retrieve a state of another device, and deposit an updatedstate. Moreover, interactive device 110 can enhance its capabilitiesbeyond independent interactivity specification 123 by, for example,retrieving networked interactivity specification 143 and additionalresources from asset bank 141. Interactive device 110 can therefore usestates of externally networked devices as a context to affectspecification interpreter 124, and media device 150 can similarly usestates of externally networked devices as a context to affectspecification interpreter 164. For example, behavior 128 of interactivedevice 110 may dynamically adjust depending on a present state of timecode 167, and environmental variables 169 of media device 150 maydynamically adjust depending on a present state of history 126.

FIG. 2 presents another block diagram of a system for an interactivedevice for interaction with a user of a media device, according to oneembodiment of the present invention. Environment 200 of FIG. 2 includesinteractive device 210, audio 222, server 230, media device 250, display275, and media interactivity database 280. Interactive device 210includes onboard speaker 216 and device state 225. Device state 225includes history 226, appearance 227, and emotion 228. Server 230includes processor 231, master states 242, asset bank 241, and networkedinteractivity specification 243. Master states 242 include master mediastate 246 and master device state 245. Media device 250 includes mediastate 266. Media state 266 includes time code 267, language 268, andenvironmental variables 269. Media interactivity database 280 includesprimary key 286, secondary key 287, and scene resources 285. Sceneresources 285 include scared device pattern 283 and scared device assets281. With regards to FIG. 2, it should be noted that interactive device210 corresponds to interactive device 110 from FIG. 1, that server 230corresponds to server 130, that media device 250 corresponds to mediadevice 150, and that display 275 corresponds to display 175.Additionally, elements such as processors, memory, and peripheralhardware have been removed from FIG. 2 for clarity purposes.

In an example illustrated by environment 200 of FIG. 2, interactivedevice 210 relies on media state 266 of media device 250 as a context toprovide interaction via networked interactivity specification 243. Forexample, interactive device 210 may comprise a robot toy that providescontextual commentary to enhance a viewer's enjoyment during mediaplayback. The commentary may thus be keyed to respond to particularknown positions of time code 267. In this manner, the viewer can feellike they are watching the media with a good friend or a livelycompanion, who provides timely and relevant conversation at key pointsduring playback. The logic to implement this companion may be embeddedwithin networked interactivity specification 243. One example commentaryvoice sample is shown as audio 222 in FIG. 2, where onboard speaker 216of interactive device 210 is used to say, “Oh, I've never seen thatbefore! That's so scary!”

For interactive device 210 to provide the context sensitive interaction,interactive device 210 may need an awareness of media state 266. Mediadevice 250 may provide media state 266 to server 230, with time code 267indicating playback at chapter 1, title 1, and an offset of 20 minutes,language 268 indicating English selected for spoken language andsubtitles; and environmental variables 269 indicating that a selectedmedia for playback has a media ID of “12345678.” Server 230 may storemedia state 266 as master media state 246 within master states 242.

Additionally, interactive device 210 may provide its own state, devicestate 225, to server 230, with history 226 indicating that interactivedevice 210 was previously concurrently active for a total of zero (0)complete playbacks or view counts of a media having a media ID of12345678. In other words, from the perspective of interactive device210, it is presently “viewing” the media playing on media device 250 forthe first time. Additionally, appearance 227 and behavior 228 may beprovided for server 230, indicating at time T0 an initial posture of“normal” and an initial emotional state of “normal.”

Processor 231 of server 230 may then consult media interactivitydatabase 280 to retrieve appropriate resources and behaviors forinteractive device 210, based on the contents of master states 242,including master media state 246 and master device state 245. Forexample, a database query may be executed against master media state246, with media ID 12345678 matching to primary key 286 and chapter 1,title 1, offset 00:20:00 matching to secondary key 287. Secondary key287 may then reference scene resources 285, including scared devicepattern 283 and scared device assets 281. Scene resources 285 may bekeyed to a particular scary scene of the media defined by the positiondetailed by primary key 286 and secondary key 287, allowing interactivedevice 210 to behave contextually and realistically in a scared manner.Media interactivity database 280 may provide, for example, voice samplesfor audio output from scared device assets 281 for depositing in assetbank 241, and behavioral scripts for acting scared from scared devicepattern 283 for integrating within networked interactivity specification243.

Once asset bank 241 and networked interactivity specification 243 areappropriately populated, a processor of interactive device 210 caninterpret networked interactivity specification 243 to reactconvincingly to the media content being displayed on display 275. Forexample, at a present time T1, appearance 227 may change from “normal”to “shivering” to convey fear, and behavior 228 may change from adefault “normal” behavioral script to a jittery “scared” behavioralscript. To translate these into observable manifestations, peripheralhardware of interactive device 210 might be leveraged appropriately. Forexample, an onboard motor might be initiated to cause interactive device210 to vibrate and “shiver” in fear, or to cause interactive device 210to scamper behind a couch until the scary scene referenced by mastermedia state 246 is over.

Additionally, based on the contents of master media state 246, networkedinteractivity specification 243 may select a voice sample from assetbank 241 to playback via onboard speaker 216. As shown in FIG. 2, audio222 includes the spoken statement, “Oh, I've never seen that before!That's so scary!” Since history 226 indicated that interactive device210 is viewing the scene on display 275 for the first time, the phrase“Oh, I've never seen that before!” may be specifically selected from arange of different reactions. In this manner, audio 222 is selected torelate to the scary scene from the presently playing media referenced bymaster media state 246, thus providing a contextual interaction. Whileoutputting voice samples and causing mechanical movement have been givenas example reactions to the scary scene, any arbitrary action by aperipheral hardware of interactive device 210 could be triggered, suchas blinking attached LED lights, or streaming a video clip on an onboarddisplay, for example.

To give an alternative example, if history 226 instead indicated thatmedia ID 12345678 has a view count of 10 times, a different voice samplemight be selected, where audio 222 instead contains the phrase, “Thatscene startles me every time!” If elements of master media state 246 arechanged as well, then yet another voice sample might be selected. Forexample, if language 268 indicates Spanish as the spoken language, thevoice samples might be selected from Spanish voice samples, rather thanEnglish voice samples. Additionally, if interactive device 210 includesan onboard display, then the subtitle language selected in language 268might be used to select a matching subtitle language for the onboarddisplay.

Of course, a robot toy reacting to pre-recorded media is only oneparticular implementation chosen as an example. In alternativeembodiments, interactive device 210 may also react to presentlystreaming and live media broadcasts, and not just pre-recorded media.For example, for sports fans, interactive device 210 might comprise afigure of a cheerleader wearing a logo for a popular sports team. Whenmedia device 250 shows the same sports team scoring a goal on display275, media state 266 may be updated to reflect that the sports team justscored a goal. In turn, master media state 246 may be updated to reflectmedia state 266. Interactive device 210 might provide server 230 withmaster device state 245, identifying interactive device 210, thecheerleader figure, as allied with the same popular sports team.Networked interactivity specification 243 may specify as a rule that ifa sports team scoring a goal recorded in master media state 246 matchesthe sports team in master device state 245, then interactive device 210should perform the dance and cheer provided by asset bank 241. Mediainteractivity database 280 may contain various dance routines for allpossible cheerleader figures for each sports team. Since the dance andcheer is centralized and provided by media interactivity database 280,new dance routines may be easily added as the sports season progresses,providing the sports fans with extra enjoyment from their sportswatching.

Additionally, a reversed control structure can be utilized, whereinteractive device 210 instead affects the behavior of media device 250.For example, in one embodiment, behavior 228 of interactive device 210might indicate an emotion of “sadness,” because the user has neglectedto use and play with interactive device 210 for a long time. In thisstate, interactive device 210 may assert some control over media state266 until behavior 228 returns to a “normal” emotion. For example, toexpress its loneliness, interactive device 210 may prevent time code 267from continuing to playback the video content originally selected by theuser until the user provides sufficient interaction with interactivedevice 210 to change behavior 228 from “sadness” to a “normal” emotion.To provide such an interaction, interactive device 210 might directmedia device 250 to show an interactive game on display 275 by modifyingmedia state 266 to access an interactive game on the media instead ofthe original video content. The user might then use interactive device210 as an input device to play the interactive game via display 275.Once a predetermined number of games are played, or after apredetermined length of time, behavior 228 might revert to a “normal”emotion, and media state 266 may revert back to its original state,allowing the user to play the original video content, and reminding theuser that interactive device 210 might become lonely without occasionalplay sessions.

In other embodiments, interactive device 210 might control media device250 via server 230 to play special or different media segments orprovide augmented video playback based on certain conditions. Forexample, interactive device 210 might include an internal clock that isable to synchronize date and time with server 230. If interactive device210 determines that today's date is a holiday, then special behaviors atmedia device 250 might be implemented by modifying media state 266. Forexample, prior to or during showing the original video content, mediadevice 250 may be directed to display a special feature video or videosegment about the holiday by modifying time code 267. Time code 267 maybe changed to reference a special Christmas video if the date isdetected as Christmas Day. After the Christmas video is clone playing,then media state 266 may revert back to its original state and continueplaying the original video content.

Alternatively, media state 266 may be modified for special augmentedbehavior during the original video content playback. For example,continuing with the Christmas Day example, environmental variables 269may be modified to reference a special. Christmas themed secondaryoverlay, where the user can observe display 275 showing the originalvideo content bordered by a festive frame with Christmas lights andfalling snow. In this manner, interactive device 210 can initiate acomplex range of interactions through media device 250, providing uniqueand surprising experiences for the user.

FIG. 3 presents a diagram of an interactive device for interaction witha user of a media device, according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. Diagram 300 of FIG. 3 includes interactive device 310, audio322, server 330, media playback device 350, display 375, wireless router390, and network 395. Interactive device 310 includes hat accessory 312,wireless antenna 314, onboard speaker 316, and onboard display 317.Server 330 includes master media state 346 and master device state 345.With regards to FIG. 3, it should be noted that display 375 correspondsto display 275 from FIG. 2, that media playback device 350 correspondsto media device 250, that interactive device 310 corresponds tointeractive device 210, and that server 330 corresponds to server 230.

While FIG. 2 described a state of a media playback device affecting thestate or behavior of an interactive device, FIG. 3 also includes a stateof interactive device 310 affecting the state or behavior of mediaplayback device 350. For example, it can be observed that interactivedevice 310 is currently wearing hat accessory 312, and a processor ofinteractive device 310 may take note of this detail. The processor maythen utilize wireless antenna 314 to transfer this state information tomaster device state 345 using wireless router 390 and network 395.Network 395 may comprise, for example, a publicly accessible networksuch as the Internet, whereas wireless router 390 may service a morerestricted private local network including interactive device 310 andmedia playback device 350. Media playback device 350 can then retrievemaster device state 345 from server 330 via wireless router 390 andrender video content representing interactive device 310 on display 375,noting that the appearance of interactive device 310 should include“wearing a triangular hat.” The video content may, for example, comprisea secondary video overlay over primary video content, or may comprise adedicated bonus feature separate from a feature presentation. Similarly,if a user decides to remove hat accessory 312, that fact can also betransmitted via wireless router 390, master device state 345 may beupdated to note the lack of any hats worn, and display 375 may beupdated so that no hat is shown.

In the other direction, media playback device 350 may contain stateinformation concerning, for example, a simple memory exercise game wherea user is asked to press colored buttons in a specified order. Thespecified order may, for example, be announced through an audiosubsystem connected to video playback device 350, allowing audio 322 tobe heard: “Repeat after me! Red, Green, Red.” This game-matching patternmay then be stored in master media state 346 via wireless router 390 andnetwork 395. Interactive device 310 may then retrieve master media state346 from server 330 to compare against button presses received fromonboard display 317, which might for example comprise a touchscreenpresenting the colored buttons. If the user repeats the patterncorrectly, onboard speaker 316 might be used to congratulate the user,and the success may be noted in master device state 345 for mediaplayback device 350 to gauge the user's game progress. If the user makesa mistake in repeating the pattern, onboard speaker 316 mightalternatively encourage the user to try again and note in master devicestate 345 that the current game-matching pattern might be too difficultfor the user, allowing media playback device 350 to dynamically adjustthe game difficulty and/or keep track of a running total score.

As previously discussed in conjunction with FIG. 1, interactive device310 can also operate in an independent manner if no communicationsnetwork is available, or if other devices are currently in an off state.For example, if wireless router 390, network 395, or server 330 areunavailable, then network connections might be terminated between mediaplayback device 350, interactive device 310, and server 330. Beforecommunications is cut off, interactive device 310 might retrieve asmaller subset of interactive games, videos, and other entertainmentfrom media playback device 350, allowing interactive device 310 to stilloperate independently within hardware constraints imposed by anon-connected environment. For example, rather than offering severaldifferent games for interaction, interactive device 310 may only offerone or two interactive games when no network connection is available. Ofcourse, interactive device 310 may also be populated in advance withvarious interactive content, allowing independent interactivity even ifinteractive device 310 never connects to server 330.

Conversely, when network connectivity is available, the capabilities ofinteractive device 310 may be broadened and expanded. For example, ifserver 330 is further configured to interface with an e-mail serverhosting the user's e-mail, then interactive device 310 can receivenotifications regarding new e-mail, and onboard speaker 316 might beused to announce, “You have new mail from your friend John.” Similarly,if server 330 has a data sharing arrangement with a weather forecastservice, then interactive device 310 might periodically comment on theweather, saying things like, “It looks like it might rain today, youshould take your umbrella.” Other data sources, such as sports news,world events, and other feeds may also he used to provide interactivedevice 310 with new information for comment. In this manner, interactivedevice 310 can appear to be aware of the surrounding world, rather thanbeing limited to a small range of predetermined expressions.

Moreover, as previously discussed, server 330 might also have thecapability to connect to several interactive devices. This capabilitymight be used, for example, to support multiplayer interactions inconjunction with media playback device 350. For example, a media in useby media playback device 350 might support the game of Battleship, whereplayers try to shoot down and sink their opponent's battleships byguessing the location of their opponent's battleships on a square grid.Each player may have their own interactive device, similar tointeractive device 310. Similarly, a touch sensitive onboard displaysimilar to onboard display 317 might be provided on each interactivedevice, allowing each player to position their own ships or to select aposition to attack on their opponent's grid.

Server 330 can centralize game logic by keeping track of each playergrid, or device state, for each of the interactive devices, as well asaccepting input data from each onboard display. In alternativeembodiments, media playback device 350 may instead centralize or sharesome of the game logic duties from server 330. Delegating some logicduties to media playback device 350 may help reduce processing load atserver 330, which is already responsible for maintaining acommunications network between interactive devices and media playbackdevice 350.

Although the game of Battleship might be implemented using aconventional board game configuration, the usage of multiple interactivedevices along with server 330 and media playback device 350 may providesome additional atmospheric feedback to enhance the ambience of the gameand heighten user enjoyment. For example, if server 330 calculates a hitto a ship, media playback device 350 might be instructed to playback avideo clip showing a ship being shot down and sinking into the ocean.Alternatively, if server 330 determines that a player just fired a miss,media playback device 350 might be instructed to playback a video clipshowing a torpedo firing into empty waters. The video clips might alsovary depending on the size of the battleship destroyed, with largerbattleships initiating a longer, more impressive video clip withcolorful pyrotechnics. This video feedback might allow the players tofeel like they are really waging a war at sea, rather than justabstractly selecting spots on a grid, as might be the case for aconventional board game.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart describing the steps, according to oneembodiment of the present invention, by which an interactive device canprovide an interaction for a user of a media device. Certain details andfeatures have been left out of flowchart 400 that are apparent to aperson of ordinary skill in the art. For example, a step may compriseone or more substeps or may involve specialized equipment or materials,as known in the art. While steps 410 through 440 indicated in flowchart400 are sufficient to describe one embodiment of the present invention,other embodiments of the invention may utilize steps different fromthose shown in flowchart 400.

Referring to step 410 of flowchart 400 in FIG. 4 and environment 100 ofFIG. 1, step 410 of flowchart 400 comprises processor 111 of interactivedevice 110 establishing a communication with server 130. As in FIG. 3,this communication may be established using a wireless router and apublic network such as the Internet. Alternative embodiments may usewired connections, or local private networks. Additionally, server 330may be maintained by external parties, or hosted directly on hardwareowned by a user, such as a personal desktop or notebook computer withserver software installed.

Referring to step 420 of flowchart 400 in FIG. 4 and environment 100 ofFIG. 1, step 420 of flowchart 400 comprises processor 111 of interactivedevice 110 obtaining, via the communication established in step 410,master media state 146. To accomplish this, processor 111 might requestthe state of media device 150 via the communication. Server 130 isresponsible for keeping master media state 146 updated to media state166 as necessary, and for expanding the capabilities of networkedinteractivity specification 143 while a connection to media device 150is active. Thus, processor 111 need only concern itself with obtainingdata during step 420, leaving most updating logic centralized at server130. In this manner, future logic updates can be readily distributed toconnected interactive devices via server 130, including new or modifiedinteractive device behaviors to networked interactivity specification143, new or modified assets to asset bank 141, and other additionalfeatures and changes.

Referring to step 430 of flowchart 400 in FIG. 4 and environment 100 ofFIG. 1, step 430 of flowchart 400 comprises processor 111 of interactivedevice 110 selecting an action in response to master media state 146.This can be accomplished, for example, by interpreting networkedinteractivity specification 143 retrieved using master media state 146to select the action. Optionally, device state 125 may also influencethe selection of the action. Using the example illustrated by FIG. 2,master media state 146 would indicate a position in the presentlyselected media where a scary scene is to occur, device state 125 wouldindicate that interactive device 110 has never seen this scary scenebefore, and networked interactivity specification 143 may dictate thatscary scenes from media device 150 should elicit a scared response frominteractive device 110. Thus, an appropriate action to select may be toexclaim that interactive device 110 has never seen the scary scenebefore, and to comment on how scary it is, which may look similar to thephrase spoken in audio 222 of FIG. 2, “Oh, I've never seen that before!That's so scary!”

Networked interactivity specification 143 may, for example, comprise acollection of conditions and rules to guide the behavior or output ofinteractive device 110 based on inputs received from media device 150,such as master media state 146. As mentioned, one such rule may be thatinput indicating a “scary scene” is playing on media device 150 shouldresult in “scared behavior” from interactive device 110. These rules andconditions might, for example, be stored as a database of conditions andresults similar to media interactivity database 280 in FIG. 2. Meeting acertain condition such as matching a time code and media identifier ofmaster media state 246 to a known scene detailed by primary key 286 andsecondary key 287 allows media interactivity database 280 to provideresults compliant with the condition, or scared device pattern 283 andscared device assets 281 of scene resources 285. In turn, server 230 canupdate asset bank 241 and networked interactivity specification 243accordingly, allowing interactive device 210 to retrieve resources fromserver 230 to select an action providing convincing and realisticbehavior that appears to depend on the contents of display 275.

While the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 utilizes media interactivitydatabase 280 for selecting the action, alternative embodiments may useother methods for the selection of the action. For example, a proceduralor object oriented state machine, a simple table of conditions andresults, a declarative interpreter, or any other mechanisms and datastructures may be utilized. Implementations might be chosen based on thecomplexity of interactions desired from interactive device 210 or mediadevice 250. As previously noted, since the behavioral logic contained inmedia interactivity database 280 is centralized by restricting accessvia server 230 as a gateway, rules and conditions of behavior can beeasily modified and changed in the future. Additionally, processor 231may be leveraged to provide computational resources for modelingbehavior much greater than the capabilities of media device 250 orinteractive device 210 in isolation, allowing for nuanced and realisticbehaviors.

Referring to step 440 of flowchart 400 in FIG. 4 and environment 100 ofFIG. 1, step 440 of flowchart 400 comprises processor 111 of interactivedevice 110 executing the action selected from step 430 using peripheralhardware 115 to provide interaction with a user of media device 150.Since the selected action from step 430 is to speak a phrase, onboardspeaker 116 of peripheral hardware 115 may be utilized to playback forthe user the voiced phrase, “Oh, I've never seen that before! That's soscary!” In this manner, the user can recognize that interactive device110 is viewing the currently playing media for the first time. The usercan also recognize that interactive device 110 is sensitive to thepresent context of media device 150, or that a scary scene is presentlybeing shown on display 175 and eliciting a scared reaction frominteractive device 110. In this manner, the user can feel like a fun andengaging buddy is also sharing the media watching experience, providinga realistic companionship experience and enhancing the user's enjoyment.Moreover, due to the centralized behavior rules and conditions providedby server 130, future variations, changes, and additions can be easilyimplemented, extending the valuable life of interactive device 110 forthe user.

From the above description of the invention it is manifest that varioustechniques can be used for implementing the concepts of the presentinvention without departing from its scope. Moreover, while theinvention has been described with specific reference to certainembodiments, a person of ordinary skills in the art would recognize thatchanges can be made in form and detail without departing from the spiritand the scope of the invention. As such, the described embodiments areto be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Itshould also be understood that the invention is not limited to theparticular embodiments described herein, but is capable of manyrearrangements, modifications, and substitutions without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

1-23. (canceled)
 24. An interactive device operable to act in response to a video being played by a playback device on a display, the interactive device comprising: a peripheral hardware for interaction with a user of the interactive device; a processor configured to: wirelessly receive one or more codes generated by the playback device while playing the video on the display, the one or more codes relating to one or more events occurring in the video being played by the playback device on the display; and execute one or more actions in response to each of one or more codes using the peripheral hardware.
 25. The interactive device of claim 24, wherein the one or more codes are one or more time codes.
 26. The interactive device of claim 25, wherein the one or more codes include information relating to the video.
 27. The interactive device of claim 26, wherein the information includes at least one of a chapter number, a title number, an angle selection and a time offset.
 28. The interactive device of claim 26, wherein the interactive device is in communication with a server, and the processor is configured to wirelessly receive the one or more codes generated by the playback device from the server.
 29. The interactive device of claim 24, wherein the one or more codes control an outward appearance of the interactive device.
 30. The interactive device of claim 24, wherein the outward appearance of the interactive device includes at least one of a body posture, a facial configuration, a color, a clothing and an accessory of the interactive device.
 31. The interactive device of claim 24, wherein the one or more codes cause the interactive device to present an emotional behavior.
 32. The interactive device of claim 24, wherein the emotional behavior presented by the interactive device includes acting scared.
 33. The interactive device of claim 32, wherein the interactive device acts scared in response to the one or more codes indicating a scary scene in the video.
 34. A method for use by an interactive device operable to act in response to a video being played by a playback device on a display, the interactive device having a processor and a peripheral hardware for interaction with a user of the interactive device, the method comprising: wirelessly receiving, using the processor, one or more codes generated by the playback device while playing the video on the display, the one or more codes relating to one or more events occurring in the video being played by the playback device on the display; and execute one or more actions in response to each of one or more codes using the peripheral hardware.
 35. The method of claim 34, wherein the one or more codes are one or more time codes.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein the one or more codes include information relating to the video.
 37. The method of claim 36, wherein the information includes at least one of a chapter number, a title number, an angle selection and a time offset.
 38. The method of claim 36, wherein the interactive device is in communication with a server, and the wirelessly receiving receives the one or more codes generated by the playback device from the server.
 39. The method of claim 34, wherein the one or more codes control an outward appearance of the interactive device.
 40. The method of claim 34, wherein the outward appearance of the interactive device includes at least one of a body posture, a facial configuration, a color, a clothing and an accessory of the interactive device.
 41. The method of claim 34, wherein the one or more codes cause the interactive device to present an emotional behavior.
 42. The method of claim 34, wherein the emotional behavior presented by the interactive device includes acting scared.
 43. The method of claim 42, wherein the interactive device acts scared in response to the one or more codes indicating a scary scene in the video. 